It’s worth reviewing these common mistakes writers overlook to ensure the credibility of your work.
You can take advantage of auto-complete, a feature that both Google and Bing provide when you search. Start typing anything in the search bar, and you’ll see that it completes it as you type. That offers clues to what other people are searching for with their queries.
In addition, Google displays alternative search strings at the bottom of the SERPs. It’s helpful to consider those suggestions when creating a title. That will help create titles that attract traffic.
You should fine-tune the titles of older articles that haven’t been performing well. Problems with search traffic may be due to titles that need improvement.
Make your title clearly state what your article is about. In addition, you need to deliver on that and stay focused. Avoid any content in your story that does not relate specifically to what the title indicates.
I see some articles where the writer goes off on tangents. When that happens, I lose interest, not knowing the point they are trying to make. You wouldn’t want to lose readers due to that mistake in staying focused.
Titles should also be limited to around 60 characters. Anything longer gets truncated in the search listings (SERPs). It’s not exactly 60 characters because the character width affects what gets truncated. For example, the letter ‘I’ takes less space than ‘W.’
I recommend using the Google search results preview tool to make sure your full title appears in the search listing without being cut off.1
If you’re using your own images, you don’t need to worry about this. However, if you use images found elsewhere, you need to check the license.
I see many people overlook the fact that our articles are commercial because they generate revenue. Many free image sites allow use for non-commercial content only.
It’s important to read the specific licensing information. If you don’t understand something, stick to using your own images or use a CC0 license.2
CC is Creative Commons, and the zero after the CC means “No Rights Reserved,” so you are free to use the image in any way you wish without attribution, even commercially.
Pixabay and Unsplash are my preferred sources for commercial-use images. Pixabay recently began including its own license (known as the Pixabay Content License) for commercial use. Unsplash includes the CC0 1.0 license, which also covers commercial use.
Another Creative Commons license that allows images to be used in our articles is “Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).” These can be used commercially, but they need attribution.
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I often see articles where writers use poor English. Here are some examples. Can you guess which are the most common mistakes made by writers?
Examples of errors I see writers making:
That last one seems to be one of the most common mistakes I see. Some people think they sound intelligent by using “I” instead of “me” when speaking, but that’s not always correct in all cases.
An easy way to determine which is correct is to say each item separately. If it sounds silly, you’ll know it’s wrong. For example, “Do you want to go to the concert with I?” — See what I mean?
To hold a reader’s attention, we need to focus on delivering what the title promises. The article is not about the author, so why talk about you? That would turn people away. They want to know about the subject related to the title.
However, it’s essential to show authority by including a description of your expertise as required by Google’s Quality Guidelines.3 A better location for that is in your profile bio.
Articles that are not getting traffic might be good quality, but may need some improvements.
If you’re losing readers too soon, a simple update to the beginning paragraphs could correct that problem, such as making it clear what to expect. Include something that grabs one’s attention and makes them want to read more.
I find it helpful to review old articles once in a while to see what improvements I can make. That can take a lot of time, but I consider it time well spent, especially since I already put effort into the original work.
When I read other articles, I sometimes find things that need to be updated with correct information. That reflects poorly on the author. Don’t let this happen to you.
It’s helpful to review your reader statistics once in a while to be sure your content is being read by interested readers.
Pay close attention to the view duration. If people drop out before reading past the first few paragraphs, that’s a sign that something needs your attention.
The stats can give you a meaningful idea of what’s working and what is not.
I place a few random sentences from each article into Google Alerts4 to notify me when a copy is found.
You should make an alert for each title and one or two sentences from the content. It’s a long, drawn-out process, but once you do it, it’s done. Just remember to do it for each new article you publish.
It’s important to file a DMCA takedown request5 when you find copied content. I never bother communicating with the plagiarist. Instead, I always send the takedown notice to their website hosting company. You can find that with a tool from SiteChecker Pro.6
Serious writers who value the time they invest in their writing understand the importance of committing to these crucial steps. I know I do, and it’s worth the extra effort.
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